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Swedish Bedding Brand Trumps US Election Ad Stakes.

Clever Brand Campaign Creative Cuts-through. Swedish mattress and bedding brand SOVA released a timely ad to leverage the currency of the US election. The very clever ad features a montage made from items of their bedding range that create a portrait of President Trump. Combining…

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KFC brand adjusts for Coronavirus

Time for a brand strategy re-calibration. If I read one more coronavirus article stating how we’re all going to need to adjust to the new normal I’ll punch myself in the face. But like it or loath it, for brands of every shape and size…

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Blockbuster Leverage their Brand Nostalgia

Why Blockbuster’s Last Summer Sleepover is a Showstopping Brand Strategy. The Blockbuster brand is synonomous with others such as Kodak and Melways that were once an iconic part of life, but by missing a critical opportunity to shift with consumers and technology have become dinosaurs.…

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Qantas 747’s brilliant brand move

  A fitting brand gesture. To mark the final Boeing 747 swansong for Australian airline Qantas, the pilot en route to drop the jet to storage at a boneyard in the Mojave Desert flew a flight path that sketched-out the airlines iconic brand mark of…

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Why Branding is Best Left to the Experts

When Clients Design Their Own Logos… In my 30 years of running our branding agency, the one thing that hasn’t changed is business owners and marketers thinking brand design is so simple they can do it themselves. There’s a well worn truism; ‘A little learning…

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Cultural Misappropriation Remains a Minefield for Brands.

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t – A challenging brand management dilemma. Following-on from our recent article out the re-branding of the Washington Redskins NFL team in the US, this recent announcement (among many) about Mutual of Omaha, a Fortune 500 insurance and…

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Netflix shows how to build a brand with genuine compassion.

In branding, compassion is often seen as taboo. Compassion for customers and commercial optimization are typically considered to be diametrically opposed concepts, but Netflix has demonstrated how this doesn’t necessarily need to be the case. This month Netflix announced they would begin contacting inactive customers…

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Vale Milton Glaser – A True Design Icon

Designer of possibly one of the world’s most iconic brand marks, Milton Glaser died this week on his 91st birthday. In an industry that burns-out most of it’s brightest stars in years, Glaser’s creative career lasted decades as he inspired multiple generations of designers and…

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Is the new normal for business a once in a lifetime opportunity for brands to innovate?

Inspiring Brands Innovating for the New Reality. WFH is a Japanese start-up who’s brand name is an acronym for ‘Work From Home’. Their first product which we spotted on Kickstarter is a range of Jammies designed specifically for working from home. Brainchild of design agency;…

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A Brand Chat with Geoff Quinlan, Racing Queensland CCO.

Geoff Quinlan in previous roles as Tournament Director, Brisbane International 2017 with Sieger Grigor Dimitrov and Finalist Kei Nishikori – Pat Rafter Arena – Brisbane – QLD – Australia – 8 January 2017. © Juergen Hasenkopf The one thing I’ve learned about branding is… be…

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McDonalds releases burger scented candles

Branding Madness or Genius? As part of its Quarter Pounder Fan Club, McDonald’s have released a set of candles that smell like the ingredients of a Quarter Pounder, including; 100% Fresh Beef, Ketchup, Pickle, Cheese, Onion, and Sesame Seed Bun. Before we claim this as…

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Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Branding

When it comes to brand identity briefs, they don’t get grander than this. Every four years when the Olympic Games roll around we are treated to perhaps the most plumb job in the world of branding. The games combine the perfect branding brief – a…

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The online review tide is turning for business owners and their brands

Online reviews aren’t always what they appear to be. If  I had a dollar for every conversation I’ve had with a business owner wringing their hands in despair of the impact of online reviews I’d be writing this from an island in the Bahamas. Even…

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Oscar the Artist – Celebrating our Creative Community

At Truly Deeply we love sharing and celebrating not only our creative branding work but that of our extended brand family. In this case it’s doubly easy when the work includes Oscar the Grouch. Produced for the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street, Square Space New…

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Overheard blurs the line between social content and traditional print.

Instagram brand; Overheard launches physical newspaper stands. In the latest demonstration of the blurring between new digital and traditional business and brand models, Overheard launched a physical parody paper (think The Onion) along with a pop-up newsstand at Union Square in San Francisco. Overheard was…

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City of Pocatello rebranding stumbles over their best intentions

Best intentions don’t always get the branding job done. Following example after example of city and municipal rebrands around the world copping rate payer vitriol, The City of Pocatello decided to get on the front foot with a project and design rationale for their rebrand.…

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A brand model for SMEs to build long term business value.

The case for increasing the focus on branding in your business. Watching a video by US brand educator Chris Do recently I came across this simple illustration that captures the concept of the brand circle of behavior. Many brands, especially for start-up, early stage and…

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Doritos ‘No Logo’ ad misses the point.

Doritos Clever Thinking Only Outsmarts Themselves. Doritos is set to launch an ‘anti-ad’ campaign to appeal to Gen Z, who is research tells us are averse to traditional advertising tactics. The snack food brand plans to ditch its logo, replacing it with a recognizable triangle…

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Why heuristic bias is bad for your brand

A highbrow challenge for brands of every description. As defined by Wikipedia; A heuristic technique is any approach to problem solving or self-discovery that employs a practical method, not guaranteed to be optimal, perfect, or rational, but instead sufficient for reaching an immediate goal. When…

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The power of brilliant brand identity design

Brand Recognition = Commercial Value. In these times of desktop publishing and 99 Designs when the tools to create logos are at everyone’s fingertips, it is easy to overlook the commercial benefits of a professional brand identity. This clever creative experiment from Berlin Agency ‘Why…

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High fashion footwear – The latest branding billboard

The latest branding trend for fashion takes to the streets. As the on again / off again relationship with fashion brands featuring their logos on their clothes continues, the latest trend is high fashion featuring their branding loud and proud on the feet of their…

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Did brand mark design predict Trump’s rise to power?

How brand marks reflect social & cultural trends. Just like uncovering a time capsule or the remains of a petrified Mammoth, a collection of branding from any given period tells us much about that point in time. A case in point is this great snapshot…

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Social Media platforms are disconnecting from Brands.

No more sharing the love. In a move reflecting a growing frustration among brand owners and manager, global beauty brand Lush announced it will be shutting down its social media channels in the UK. For a brand as popular as Lush in a category where…

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The surprising case for multiple brand mark identities.

The argument for breaking the conventions of brand identity design. One of the strongest principles of branding is less is more. A simple brand proposition with a single clear point of difference expressed consistently through a brand mark and brand identity design have long been…

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Retail Brand Whole Foods Trials Convenience Format in NYC.

Retail Leader Tweaks Brand to Stay in Front. Recently US retail brand Whole Foods launched a new convenience format of their grocery store model. Since Amazon bought the business the upmarket grocery retailer has been active in trialing new formats aimed at different niches to…

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When it comes to Branding Popular ≠ Best

When it comes to branding – the approval process is a critical component. I was reading recently about a project to rebrand New York City’s privately owned public spaces (or POPS). The rebrand is being run by The New York City Department of City Planning,…

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How Rebranding Transforms Retail Street Appeal to Drive Increased Sales

Measuring the positive impact of rebranding. One of the challenges for many businesses looking to rebrand is establishing hard metrics to measure impact and return on investment. We always like our clients to come to a branding project with clarity on what these metrics may…

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Volvo Brand Walks the Talk on Sustainability.

In branding, doing is more important than saying. How do you build a unique and valued dimension to your brand proposition, one that connects your values with those of your core audience? You walk the talk, demonstrating your beliefs through remarkable brand gestures. It’s not…

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Tiffany Co shows the value of brand – and then take it too far.

The web is ablaze with ‘social commentary’ on Tiffany’s ‘Everyday Object Collection’. At first sight the US$1500 Tiffany 18k gold paperclip is a brilliant example of the power of brand. After-all, anyone can head down to the local stationery store and pick-up a regular gold…

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Ball and Chain Shoppers – A challenge for retail brands

Finding the hidden opportunities for retail branding. An interesting piece of the puzzle for retailers is managing the reluctant customer. So much focus goes in to setting up the store design and merchandising to cater to the customer whose interest brought them into the store.…

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The fallout of Nike’s very public product fail.

Ouch! When brands crash to earth. This week Nike suffered a high profile wardrobe failure when the shoe of one of their star college athletes imploded mid-match, sending Zion Williamson tumbling, shortly after followed by the Nike share price. A challenge for all high profile…

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The surprising Brands behind the world’s most loved Auto Brands

Few brand purchase decisions we make are as strong a reflection of how we see ourselves as consumers and how we wish the world to see us as  choice of the car we drive. Even those who claim to not care what brand of car…

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Breakfast at Tiffany’s – A brilliant brand collaboration

A Delicious Brand Partnership. A branding strategy that is underutilized yet regularly pays dividends is brand collaborations (especially when it comes to food). When co-branding is envisaged strategically and executed with brand sensitivity, the result can be an extraordinary brand experience – introducing new customers…

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Employee Branding – The Power of Thanks

We wanted to share a great pic from our client Yarra Trams. A part of their annual celebration to show their appreciation, our client had these delicious and beautifully branded cupcakes baked. A feast for the eyes, heart and tummy.  

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